How do 30 home runs change the evaluation of Odor’s season for Rangers?
The last day of the regular season means it’s time for members of the Baseball Writers Association of America to cast ballots for the annual awards.
My vote this year is for American League Cy Young, which is likely to be really close. AL MVP might be getting closer, too, with Mike Trout on the sidelines and Alex Bregman not on the sidelines.
Bregman’s Houston Astros teammates Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole will duke it out for Cy Young. Texas Rangers left-hander Mike Minor and right-hander Lance Lynn will like show up on some ballots.
I can’t reveal my ballot until the winner is announced in November, but I have my five guys and just need to shuffle them into order.
Check back in November.
As for the Rangers, they were trying to check back into the win column Saturday.
Here’s some Rangers Reaction from a 9-4 victory over the New York Yankees.
Meaning of 30
It’s hard to tell by his swing, because it really doesn’t seem to have ever changed, but Rougned Odor had been trying to connect for his 30th homer of the season.
He did in the sixth inning in grand style with his fifth career grand slam.
He became the first second baseman in club history with three 30-homer seasons after clearing 30 in 2016 and 2017.
So, how will 30 homers affect the way people look at Odor’s season?
“It would put an interesting spin on it, right?” manager Chris Woodward said.
The value of a 30-homer season isn’t what it once was, especially this season with baseball flying out of ballparks at a record rate. But it’s still a big number.
“I think it’s a nice number for anybody,” Odor said.
Odor will likely lead the team in home runs and RBIs, but he is still going to hit below .210 and probably below .205. He will lead the Rangers in strikeouts.
Woodward, the biggest Odor advocate who isn’t a blood relative, continues to mention the strides Odor has made the past month or so. It’s not about the results, apparently, but the changes Woodward has witnessed.
Odor entered Saturday batting .139 in his past 10 games and .181 in his past 49, but his OPS has climbed back above . 700.
The grand slam was his ninth homer of the month.
“He’s pressuring more pitches,” Woodward said. “I don’t see as many at-bats where he doesn’t have a chance. It’s up to him, honestly, to come in next year and say, ‘I can be that guy again.’ There’s a ton of talent there. We want a consistent performer that I refer to as a championship piece that we can rely on.
“If this is the guy we can have all year, we have a superstar.”
That seems like a big ask of Odor, who has registered strong finishes in previous seasons only to flop at the start of a new one. He said he won’t forget the things he has worked on this season, though.
“It’s been a tough season, but I don’t give up. I keep working hard,” Odor said. “I’ve been learning a lot about myself this year. I believe in myself. I keep trying what I was doing in the cage, and I was taking it to the field. That’s the biggest thing I did.”
Finishing touches
The game Sunday has very little meaning. Pretty much none.
The postgame tribute to Globe Life Park, though, will be worth seeing.
Not much has been revealed, other than the unveiling of the All-Time Globe Life Park Team and digging up home plate and parading it over to Globe Life Field. The only non-active players on the all-time team who won’t be on hand are Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Juan Gonzalez.
Yes, that means Josh Hamilton will participate.
It would seem logical that President Bush would want to say so long the ballpark he helped to build. If he does show up, the media would love to hear from him.
We’ll try to keep the conversation to baseball.
Burke not worried
Left-hander Brock Burke was shut down a few days ago because of a shoulder impingement that he said has been bothering him since spring training.
It finally reached the point after he last couple starts where he couldn’t compete anymore.
Burke received at platelet-rich plasma injection, and team physician Dr. Keith Meister prescribed rest. The Rangers were planning to send Burke to winter ball in the Dominican Republic but have nixed that idea.
The Colorado native didn’t reach 100 innings this season, but he said that he isn’t worried about his ability to handle a heavier workload next season. He will attempt to win a spot in the Rangers’ rotation in spring training.
Burke threw 137 1/3 innings in the minors in 2018 and 89 this season.
“I don’t think it will have any effect,” Burke said. “I feel like the 80 innings I got felt like 240.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2019 at 10:26 PM.
